Hand loom



06L 17, 1967 w s s 3,347,281

HAND LOOM Filed Aug. 5, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

rnwmmkmmmunun M J; Yarn Strand INVENTOR.

WILLIAM K. STARS Oct. 17, 1967 w. K. STARS 3,347,281

HAND LOOM Filed Aug. 5, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM K. STARS Oct. 17, 1967 w, RS 3,347,281

HAND LOOM Filed Aug. 5, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet C5 INVENTOR. WILLIAM K. STARS United States Patent Ofiice 3,347,281 Patented Oct. 17, 1967 3,347,281 HAND LOOM William K. Stars, 1916 Glendale Ave., Durham, N.C. 27701 Filed Aug. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 477,382 Claims. (Cl. 139-29) This invention relates to hand looms and more particularly to a hand loom of simple construction and operation to which sectional attachments may be made so that material of a particular size may be woven in various patterns.

The numerous attempts to construct aloom for hand weaving have been met with the objections that either the loom was too complicated and cumbersome to be operated successfully by an unskilled person, or that the loom was of such size and proportions that only a narrow strip of material, such as a scarf or a tie, could be Woven. Additionally, these earlier hand looms were restricted for the most part to only the simplest basket weave design since a plurality of heddles could be operated only by a harness which added materially to the size and complexity of such an apparatus. A further objection to the heretofore known hand looms has been that, owing to the construction of the loom, only a small amount of cloth could be woven at one sitting. All of these factors have made the construction of these looms expensive, tedious, awkward and oftentimes too complicated to be used as practical household items.

It is an object of the present invention to construct a hand loom which is inexpensive and simple in operation and to construct a hand loom which eliminates the need for a harness or heddles.

Other objects of the invention are to construct a loom which can be shipped in knock-down form and assembled by the operator of the loom and to provide simplified means for the laying out of the warp and winding thereof than has heretofore been shown.

Yet other objects are to construct a loom in which the weaving frame may be tilted to form alternate sheds while using the beater as a part of the shed-forming means and to form a loom that may be mounted and operated in either a horizontal flat position or a vertical wall secured position.

Additional objects are to provide a loom for convenient and economical shipment and to provide a loom that may be used in the lap, on a table, or by hanging.

Yet other objects are to provide a loom that is made in units that can be connected in a lateral manner so as to increase the woven material to any width and to provide a loom that allows the warp to be changed at the end of the thread rather than in the middle.

*Still other objects are to provide a loom that has a reed and beater which is automatically threaded asthe Warp is wound and to provide a loom which has the stationary end of the warp designed so as to be self finishing.

Generally, these objects of the invention are obtained by mounting an upper weaving frame support member and a lower weaving frame support member upon a supporting or base rail at a preselected spaced-api1rt distance. The upper support member has two substantially horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks in the preferred embodiment while the lower member has a horizontal row of yarn-retaining fingers, and the warp is stretched between the hooks and fingers in a preselected fashion to form the loom warp. The upper support member is tiltably retained by a rail and is attached to a driving pulley or chain so that it may be moved in first one direction and then the other thus forming alternate sheds for passing a shuttle carrying the weft yarn therethrough. A reed which performs a dual function of a beater and heddle is releasably carried by the upper support member for easy removal and use as needed. The tilting of the upper support member allows the plane of the cloth to stay centered with respect to a horizontal center line so that the weft may be beaten up. As the cloth grows, the shed may be maintained at an adequate depth by tilting the frame upon its pivotal support and thus the shuttle can be passed through the shed even though the cloth has grown to a considerable extent upon the weaving frame.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent and may be more fully understood from the consideration of the accompanying drawings constituting a part hereof in which like characters of reference designate like parts and in which: 7

FIG. 1 is a front, elevational, broken view of a hand loom illustrating the cooperative alignment of the warp between the yarn-retaining hooks and the yarn-retaining fingers of the lower support member;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shuttle and bobbin arrangement designed for use with the present hand loom;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational, broken view of the hand loom showing the normal fixed position of the upper support member and carried reed in solid lines and the alternate shed-forming positions of the upper support member and reed in broken lines;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the support or base rail for carrying the upper and lower support members in a vertically-retained position and the pivotable pedal bar aligned thereunder for foot operation on a supporting or working surface;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the support or base rail mounted on a flat working surface for horizontal operation illustrating the attachment thereto of a portion of the upper support member and the selected positioning of the lower support member in spaced relation to the upper member; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded, perspective view of the upper support member, the reed or beater, the lower support "member and the pivotable pedal bar detached from the support or base rail.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a hand loom generally designated 10 which is comprised of a loom support rail 12 having a plurality of latching slots 14 for cooperatively receiving component appendages later to be more particularly described. Slots 14 provide a length adjustment so that the support members may be positioned at a preselected spaced-apart distance from each other. An upper weaving frame or warp yarn support member generally designated 16 includes a flared hook-assembly support or carriage mechanism 18 which is fastened to rail 12 by inserting a carried appendage or latch 19 into one of the slots 14. A cap 20 provides a positive connection between the latch 19 and slot 14 of rail 12 by extending above and below the slot for a suitable distance to pre- 'to'enable its extending end portions 34 and 36 to be insorted into and carried by the loops 24 of the carriage mechanism 18 for pivotal movement. Rods 30 and 32 are secured to each other and held apart in a spaced fixed relationship by a plurality of short and long hooks 38 and 40, the short hooks 38 forming a substantially horizontal row 39 which extends slightly below lower rod 32, and

P. J the longer hooks 40 forming a second substantially hori zontal row 41 below the first row considerably beneath lower rod 32. The needles 38 and 40 are each soldered or Welded to the rods 30 and 32 to maintain them rigidly at the preselected spaced-apart distance. Additionally, a pivot actuating member 42 is secured to rods 30 and 32 at their approximate mid-points, and this member retains a chain 44 at the extending and bent-back upper portion 46, the chain 44 extending outwardly and downwardly to a pivotable pedal bar 48 which will be subsequently described in greater detail. A second chain 50 is connected to thelower bent-back portion 52 of actuator member 42 and also extends downwardly to connect with pedal bar 48 as shown in the figures, the operation of which will be later described.

A lower weaving frame support member generally designated 54 is provided with a retaining cap 56 similar to that described above for the upper member which will also maintain lower member 54 in a rigid and secure position along rail 12 since flange 57 afiixed to cap 56 will engage slots 14 of that rail. Lower member 54 is also formed of a continuous wire strand 58, and that strand has vertically shaped portions 59 which are Welded to a protruding or extending ridge 68 connected to cap 56. A plurality of yarn-retaining fingers 62 are soldered or welded along a substantially horizontally formed portion 61 of wire 58 so as to form cooperating yarn holders with the upper and lower hooks 38 and 40 of hook assembly 28.

A reed generally designated 64 is formed from two substantially horizontally positioned rods 66 and 68, these rods being joined together in a fixed spaced-apart relationship by a plurality of bent and swept back wire members 70 which are soldered or welded at each end to rods 66 and 68. A handle 72 is shaped and attached to upper rod 66 to give an operator a convenient gripping portion for the desired manipulation of the reed 64. Reed 64 is carried normally when not in use by the carriage assembly 18 as particularly shown in FIG. 3. The reed is placed over mechanism 16 and retained thereto by means of two backward extensions 74 and 76 of handle 72 so that the operator may lift the reed from the mechanism 16 to pack the weft as desired. Wire members 70 are selectively spaced to intersect between each of the needles 38 and 40 of the support assembly or mechanism 16 and prevent entanglement with these hooks upon the removal or replacement of the reed.

The loom is operated by engaging pivot actuating member 42 by means of the attached chains 44 and 50, these chains being normally connected to the ends of pivot bar 48 which is balanced at a fulcrum or foot 78. Actuating chain 44 which is connected to the upper portion 46 of member 42 will cause assembly 16 to pivot within loops 24 to the position substantially shown by the broken lines 80 of FIG. 3. As chain 44 is pulled downwardly, as for example, by the operator depressing that particular end of pivot bar 48 by foot, assembly 16 is partially pivoted and rotated (see arrow) to form a shed through which shuttle 84 may be passed. The shedaforming yarn separation is achieved by rotating the needle assembly and the contained needle rows 39 and 41 which are normally maintained in a coplanar relationship with yarn-retaining fingers 62 to a position whereby the upper and lower rows of needles 39 and 41 are no longer coplanar with those fingers. Since fingers 62 remain at all times stationary, the rotation of the needle assembly causes selected yarn separation to form two separate planes between needle row 39 and finger row 61 and needle row 41 and finger row 61. The space between these newly formed planes defines a shed 82 for passing through the shuttle 84.

When it is desired to form an opposite or alternate shed such as is necessary for ordinary basket weaving, pivot rod 48 is depressed upon operator foot actuation to pull chain 50 and therefore pivot assembly 16 to the position shown by the broken lines 86 of FIG. 3. This alternate positioning also moves the upper and lower row of needles 38 and 40 away from and out of their former coplanar relationship with retaining fingers 62 to form an opposite or alternate shed 88 through which shuttle 84 may be passed. Thus alternate or opposite sheds 82 and 88 are selectively formed by the actuation of chains 44 and 50 which are connected directly to the ends of pivot bar 48. Obviously, the pivoting operation may be obtained by any number of physical manipulations aside from that illustrated in this preferred embodiment such as by pedals or by hand.

A loom support bracket generally designated 90 makes possible the positioning of the loom for operation along a leading door edge 92 such as is shown in FIG. 4. Assembly 98 is comprised of a flat vertically positioned metal bar 94 having latching flanges 96 integrally extending from a back rail-engaging edge 98. A plurality of wire formed loops 100 are retained within member 94 securely against rail 12 by the cooperating notch 102 within member 94. Positioning the loom along a leading door edge such as shown in FIG. 4 provides a convenient working surface and is particularly adapted for the usage of pivot bar 48 balanced on the floor or a working surface 104 beneath the retained loom. An operator using this arrangement may be seated directly in front of the door edge to operate the hand loom efifortlessly with accuracy and precision.

An alternative placement or positioning of the loom 10 for flat or horizontal operation is shown in FIG. 5 and comprises securing rail 12 against a board or planar surface 106 so that the operator may be seated before this surface to manipulate the loom as desired. Pivot 'bar 48 may be used in this alternative operating position or the operator may move the hook assembly 28 by hand since shuttle 84 can be manipulated easily as the loom is maintained in the horizontal position. Note that the rod 22 of assembly 18 is bent to form surface contacting edges 108, these edges being particularly useful when the loom is being operated in the horizontal position to prevent any loom free movement. Rod 58 of assembly 54 is also fashioned to provide contacting edges 110 similar to those described above.

Shuttle 84 is comprised of a precisely shaped continuous strand of wire which is joined at a convenient location 112 to form a continuous loop which will avoid snagging or entangling the warp or weft during the weaving operation. The shuttle bobbin is comprised of wire indentations 114 and 116 within the shuttle to support a continuous strand of weft yarn 118 which may be wound to form a roll 120 between these bent portions. The operator has merely to turn shuttle 84 to unwind a portion of this p-rewound yarn strand 118 as weft yarn is needed.

Since all components of the present invention are detachable and are constructed or preshaped wire or channel members, these components may be conveniently packaged in a space-saving manner within an extremely small area thus offering advantages that have not heretofore been found in the art. Since these components are so easily dismantled, various damaged components may be easily replaced without a major reconstruction or maintenance program for the entire loom being necessary. The unitary and continuous wire construction of the various portions provides a far sturdier and simpler loom than presently available, and additionally the preferred embodiment of the present concept is far lighter in weight than conventional hand looms thus making the packaging and shipment of such an item most convenient and economical.

There is' no threading of the beater necessary as in conventional looms since the reed 64 acts as the beater and is prethreaded when the warp yarn is applied. Additionally, the continuous threading technique allows the loom Warp to be put in place in a much shorter period of time than is conventionally required on a normal or heretofore disclosed hand loom. As an added feature, the stationary end of the warp is so designated as to be self-finishing thus eliminating the cut yarn edge normally found in other hand looms. The present invention has the unique quality of changing the warp at the end of the thread, rather than in the middle though it can also be threaded by using a half-hitch knot which will allow the thread to be continuous.

It is contemplated that the present loom can be made in units which are connected in a lateral manner so as to increase the woven material to any preselected or desired width. For example, a plurality of loom units could be horizontally positioned on a flat surface such as shown in FIG. 5 in an edge-to-edge relationship to form woven material as shuttle 84 is passed continuously through all laterally positioned units.

Various woven patterns may be achieved using the present hand loom by altering or varying the thread configuration of the warp and by modifying the selective shed formation for passing the shuttle therethrough. For example, thread could be passed to the same upper needle 38 two or three times before then extending that thread to a lower needle 40 for only one pass to that needle. Any number of such variations are available thus offering a wide varietyof woven cloth patterns to be used by the weaver as he or she might desire. The shuttle may be passed through the same shed for one or more times if that feature is needed.

It is apparent that by this invention there is shown a hand loom not heretofore known which is of inexpensive construction and compact enough so that it can be used as a household item and readily stored or shipped when not in use. Obviously, many modifications and variations may be made in the construction and arrangement of the upper support member, the lower support member and the reed or beater as well as the tiltingor pivoting means and pedal assembly as well as the other phases of the present inventive concept in the light of the above teachings without departing'from the real spirit and purpose of this invention. Such; modifications of parts and alternatives as well as the use of mechanical equivalents to those herein illustrated and described are reasonably included and modifications are contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper warp yarn support assembly carried by said rail having warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom; a lower warp yarn support member adjustably and releasably secured to said support rail; a reed member contiguous said upper support assembly and movable with respect thereto; and means for tiltably positioning said upper support assembly to form alternate and preselected sheds upon actuation whereby the formed alternate sheds of warp allow a shuttle to be passed therethrough for weaving and forming a woven material.

2. A handloom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper warp yarn support assembly adjustably and releasably carried by said rail having substantially horizontal rows of warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom for engaging and maintaining a warp yarn; a lower warp yarn support member adjustably and releasably secured to said support rail; said lower member adapted to engage and maintain a continuous strand of yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks to form a warp, said warp yarn-retaining hooks and means being coplanar withthe formed warp; a reed member releasably retained by said upper support assembly, said reed member movable from a first retained position to a weft beating position for uni; formly packing the material being woven; and means for tiltably positioning said upper frame support assembly and said reed member, said lower member including a pivotable pedal bar operatively connected to said upper support assembly for defining alternate sheds upon selective actuation whereby alternate sheds of warp formed when the upper assembly and reed member are tilted allow a shuttle to be passed therethrough for continuous weaving.

3. A hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper weaving frame support assembly adjustably carried by said rail, said upper support assembly having at least two substantially horizontal rows of warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom for engaging and maintaining a continuous strand warp yarn; a lower weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper assembly and releasably secured to said support rail, said lower member having warp yarn-retaining fingers thereon for engaging and maintaining a continuous strand of yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks to form a warp, said warp yarn-retaining hooks and fingers being coplanar with the formed warp; a reed member releasably retained by said upper support assembly, said reed member movable from a first retained position to a weft beating position to uniformly pack the material being woven; and means for tiltably positioning said upper frame support assembly and said reed member, said means including a pivotable pedal bar operatively connected to said upper support assembly to form alternate preselected. sheds upon selective actuation whereby alternate sheds of warp are formed when the upper member and reed member are selectively tilted to allow a shuttle to be passed therethrough for weaving.

4. A hand loom for weaving material comprising: a

loom support rail; an upper warp yarn support assembly adjustably carried by said rail, said upper support member having at least two substantially hoizontal rows of warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom for engaging and maintaining a warp yarn; a lower weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper assembly and releasably secured to said support rail, said lower member adapted to engage and maintain a continuous strand of yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks to form a warp, said warp yarn-retaining hooks and fingers being coplanar with the formed warp; a reed member releasably retained by said upper support assembly, said reed member movable from a first retained position to a weft beating position to uniformly pack the material being woven; and means for tiltably positioning said upper support assembly and said reed member, said means including a pivotable pedal bar having a first end operativelyconnected to said upper support member to form a first preselected shed upon actuation, and a second end operatively connected to said upper support member to form a second preselected shed upon actuation whereby alternate sheds of warp are formed when the upper member and reed member are tilted to allow a shuttle to be passed therethrough for weaving and forming a woven material, said upper sup port assembly horizontal-rows and said lower weaving frame support member being connectib le and aligna in tandem to provide a warp of selectable length.

5. A hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper Warp yarn support assembly adjustably and tiltably carried by said rail, said upper assembly having at least two substantially horizontal rows of warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom for engaging and maintaining a continuous strand of warp yarn; a lower weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper assembly and releasably secured to said support rail; a reed and beater member releasablyretained by said upper support assembly, said reed member movable from a first retained position to a weft beating position to uniformly pack the material being woven; and means for tiltably positioning said upper frame support assembly and said reed and beater member to form plural planes of warp whereby alternate sheds for warp are defined by the plural planes when the upper assembly and reed member are tilted to allow a weft-carrying shuttle to be passed therethrough for weaving.

6. A portable, knock-down hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper warp yarn frame support assembly tiltably carried by said rail, said assembly having at least two substantially horizontal rows of warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom for engaging and maintaining strands of warp yarn; a lower weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper assembly and releasably secured to said support rail, said lower member having means for engaging and maintaining a continuous strand of Warp yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks, said warp yarn-retaining hooks and fingers being coplanar with the formed warp; a reed member releasably retained by said upper sup-port assembly, said reed member movable from a first retained position to a weft beating position to uniformly pack the material being woven; and means for tiltably positioning said upper frame support assembly and said reed member to form plural planes of warp whereby alternate sheds of warp are defined by the plural planes when the upper assembly and reed member are tilted to allow a weft-carrying shuttle to be passed therethrough during weaving, said upper support assembly horizontal rows and said lower weaving frame support member being aligna ble and connectible in tandem to provide a warp of selectable length.

7. A hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper weaving frame support assembly adjustably carried by said rail having at least two substantially horizontal rows of warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom; a lower weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper assembly and releasably secured to said support rail, said lower support member carrying warp yarn-retaining finges for engaging and maintaining a continuous strand of yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarnretaining hooks to form a warp; a reed member releasably retained by said upper support member and movable from a first retained position to a weft yarn packing position; means for movably positioning said upper frame support member and said reed member to form selective and alternative sheds; and a weft-carrying shuttle for selective passage through said formed shed whereby a preselective section of material is continuously woven.

8. A hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper weaving frame support assembly adjustably carried by said rail, said support assembly including a carriage assembly and a hook assembly mechanism, said hook assembly mechanism having at least two substantially horizontal rows of warpyarnretaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom; a lower weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper support assembly and said hook mechanism and releasably secured to said support rail, said lower support member adapted to engage and maintain a continuous strand of Warp yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks to form a warp; a reed and heater member releasably retained by said upper support member and movable from a first retained position to a weft yarn packing position; and means for tiltably positioning said upper frame support member and said reed member whereby alternate sheds of Warp are formed when the upper support member and reed member are selectively tilted to allow a weft-carrying shuttle to be passed therethrough for weaving.

9. A hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper yarn support assembly tiltably carried by said rail, said upper support assembly including a carriage assembly and a hook assembly mechanism, said hook assembly mechanism having at least two substantially horizontal rows of warp yarnretaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom for engaging and maintaining a warp yarn; a lower weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper assembly and releasably secured to said support rail, said lower member having warp yarn-retaining fingers thereon for engaging and maintaining a warp yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks, said warp yarn-retaining hooks and fingers being coplanar with the formed warp; a reed and beater member releasably retained by said upper support assembly, said reed member movable from a first retained position to a weft beating position to uniformaly pack the material being woven; and means for tiltably positioning said upper frame support assembly and said reed and beater member to form plural planes of warp whereby alternate sheds of warp are defined by the plural planes when the upper assembly and reed member are tilted to allow a weftcarrying shuttle to be passed therethrough for weaving.

10. A portable, knock-down hand loom for weaving material comprising: a loom support rail; an upper weaving frame support assembly carried by said rail, said upper support assembly having at least two substantially horizontal rows of warp yarn-retaining hooks extending downwardly therefrom for engaging and maintaining strands of warp yarn; a lower Weaving frame support member adjustably positioned below said upper assembly and releasably secured to said support rail, said lower member having warp yarn-retaining fingers thereon for engaging and maintaining strands of warp yarn in cooperation with said horizontal rows of yarn-retaining hooks to form a warp, said warp yarn-retaining hooks and fingers being coplanar with the formed warp; a reed member releasably retained by said upper support assembly, said reed mem ber movable from a first retained position to a weft beating position to uniformly pack the material being woven; and means for tiltably positioning said upper frame support assembly and said reed member, said means including a pivotable pedal bar operatively connected to said upper support assembly to form alternate preselected sheds upon selective actuation whereby alternate sheds of warp are formed when the upper member and reed member are selectively tilted to allow a shuttle to be passed therethrough for weaving, said upper support assembly horizontal rows and said lower weaving frame support member being alignable and connectible in tandem to provide a warp of selectable length. I

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 614,793 11/1898 Copeland 139-18 2,582,008 1/ 2 Clack 13833 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,373 1915 Great Britain. 42,431 2/ 18 88 Germany. 135,152 1919 Great Britain. 259,183 4/ 1913 Germany. 296,001 5/ 1932 Italy. 343,227 10/ 1921 Germany.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

J. KEE CHI, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A HAND LOOM FOR WEAVING MATERIAL COMPRISING: A LOOM SUPPORT RAIL; AN UPPER WARP YARN SUPPORT ASSEMBLY CARRIED BY SAID RAIL HAVING WARP YARN-RETAINING HOOKS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM; A LOWER WARP YARN SUPPORT MEMBER ADJUSTABLY AND RELEASABLY SECURED TO SAID SUPPOPT RAIL; A REED MEMBER CONTIGUOUS SAID UPPER SUPPORT ASSEMBLY AND MOVABLE WITH RESPECT THERETO; AND MEANS FOR TILTABLY POSITIONING SAID UPPER SUPPORT ASSEMBLY TO FORM ALTERNATE AND PRESELECTED SHEDS UPON ACTUATION WHEREBY THE FORMED ALTERNATE SHEDS OF WARP ALLOW A SHUTTLE TO BE PASSED THERETHROUGH FOR WEAVING AND FORMING A WOVEN MATERIAL. 